Because Italian is your native language, there are several American English sounds that you naturally will have difficulty pronouncing. The following is a list of sounds that may be accented in your everyday speech. It is recommended that you practice all the sounds on the list, just to make sure that you are forming them correctly.

1. There may be an added “uh” at the end of wordsIt is very common for native Italian speakers to hang onto or prolong the final sound of a word and then add “uh” after it when speaking English. This added “uh” can occur at the end of any word, whether there is a voiced sound at the end or an unvoiced sound. You will be working on eliminating this extra “uh”.

When an extra “uh” occurs at the end of a word:

The word “man” will sound like “man-uh”

The word “teach” will sound like “teach-uh”

The word “bus” will sound like “bus-uh”

2. The “z” sound is often pronounced like “s”The “z” and “s” sounds belong to the group of consonants called the “continuant sounds” because they can be prolonged or continued. The “z” and “s” sounds are formed in exactly the same way, except for what we call "voicing": the “z” sound uses your voice, while the “s” sound doesn’t. It is very common for native Italian speakers to pronounce “z” like “s.” This occurs because you do not use your voice when you need to.

To form the “z” sound correctly in American English:

Smile and keep your teeth close together

Place the tip and front part of your tongue flat very close to the roof of your mouth

Push air out of your mouth and prolong the sound

You should hear your voice when you say this sound and it will sound like a buzzing sound.

When “z” sounds like “s”

The word “zoo” will sound like “Sue”

The word “was” will sound like “wuss”

The word “busy” will sound like “bissy”

3. Some final voiced consonants are often pronounced without voiceAlmost all of the consonant sounds in English are paired with another. Pairs are formed in the same way as far as tongue and lip placement. The only difference between the two is in what we call “voicing”. One of the sounds in the pair is formed by using your voice, while the other one isn't.

Many people who speak English as a second language, including Italian speakers, often pronounce final voiced consonants without voice. Because final voiced consonant sounds in English tend to be pronounced quietly, we need to stretch the vowel that comes just before them to make the final sounds appear more voiced.

Let's take a look at some of the following final voiced consonants that you may be pronouncing incorrectly:

The “b” sound may be pronounced like “p” at the ends of wordsThe “p” and “b” sounds are formed in exactly the same way, with the exception of voicing. The “b” sound uses your voice, while the “p” sound doesn’t. To help the "b" sound more voiced, stretch or prolong the vowel that comes just before it.

When final "b" sounds like "p"

The word “cub” will sound like “cup”

The word "lib" will sound like "lip"

The word "job" will sound like "jop"

The final "g" sound may be pronounced like "k" at the ends of wordsThe “g” and “k” sounds are both formed by placing the back of the tongue against the back of the throat, then holding your breath. To say these sounds, push out the sound in a little explosion. The only difference between the two sounds is that “g” uses your voice, while “k” doesn’t.

To pronounce the "g" sound at the end of a word correctly, stretch or prolong the vowel that comes just before it.When final "g" sounds like "k"

The word “rug” will sound like “ruck”

The word “mag” will sound like “mac”

The word "bog" will sound like "balk"

The “v” sound may be pronounced like “f” at the ends of words

Pronouncing the “v” without voicing will create the “f” sound. Here you will most likely be shortening the vowel that comes before it.

To pronounce the “v” sound at the end of a word, lengthen the vowel that comes just before it to help it sound more voiced.

When final "v" sounds like "f"

The word “live” will sound like “liff”

The word “gave” will sound like “gafe”

The word "five" will sound like "fife"

4. The “d” sound may be pronounced like “t” at the ends of wordsThe “d” and “t” sounds belong to the group of consonants called the “stop sounds.” They are formed in exactly the same way, with the exception of voicing; the “d” uses your voice, while “t” does not. If you are pronouncing the final “d” like “t”, it means that you are shutting your voice off and saying the vowel that comes just before the final “d” too quickly.The final "d" sound is listed separately from the final voiced sounds in number 3 above because it occurs so frequently in American English.

To form the “d” sound

Open your mouth slightly

Place the tip of your tongue behind your upper front teeth, but not touching them.

Hold your breath

Push out the sound in a little explosion

When final “d” sounds like “t”The word “bad” will sound like “bat”The word “had” will sound like “hat”The word “bed” will sound like “bet”

5. The “p” sound is often pronounced like “b”The “p” and “b” sound belong to what we call the “stop” sounds. They are formed in exactly the same way, with the exception of voicing: the “b” sound uses your voice, while the “p” sound doesn’t. As a native Italian speaker, you may tend to put voice on the “p” sound when saying it, making it especially noticeable at the beginning of words. To form the “p” sound:

Place your lips together

Hold your breath

Then, push air out of your mouth in a little explosion. You must hear a little puff of air when you say the “p” sound. If you don’t, then you will be using your voice and creating the “b” sound.

When “p” sounds like “b”:

The word “pat” will sound like “bat”

The word “pill” will sound like “bill”

The word “paint” will sound like “baint”

6. The “t” sound may sound like “d”The “t” and “d” sounds in American English both belong to the group of consonants called the “stop sounds.” This is because you must hold your breath before you say them and then stop your air or voice after you say them. They are formed in exactly the same way, with the exception of voicing: the “d” sound uses your voice, while the “t” sound doesn’t.

As a native Italian speaker, you may be using your voice when you say the “t” sound, creating the “d” sound instead. Because the “t” and “d” sounds occur so frequently in English, it is important to understand the differences between the two so that you can master them in your everyday speech.

To form the “t” sound

Open your mouth slightly

Hold your breath

Place the tip of your tongue behind your upper front teeth, but not touching them.

Push air out in a little explosion, making sure that you do not use your voice

When “t” sounds like “d”:The word “take” will sound like “dake”The word “time” will sound like “dime”The word “attend” will sound like “uh-dend”

7. The voiced “th” sound may be pronounced like “d”The voiced “th” belongs to the group of sounds called the “continuant sounds” because you can prolong or continue it. This sound is one of two sounds in American English where you must stick out your tongue to form it correctly. Most people who speak English as a second language have difficulty forming this sound correctly. As a native Italian speaker, you are most likely pronouncing it like “d.” This means that you are keeping your tongue inside your mouth and holding your breath when you say it, rather than sticking your tongue out and continuing the sound. To form the voiced “th” sound:

Stick your tongue out of your mouth slightly

Let your upper front teeth rest lightly on your tongue

Push your voice out through the tiny space between your upper front teeth and tongue

Keep your tongue and teeth lightly touching while you are pushing out the sound. If you hold your breath or separate your tongue and teeth, you will not be pronouncing the “th” correctly

You should feel your tongue vibrate when you say this sound

When the voiced “th” sounds like “d”:The word “the” will sound like “duh.”The word “father” will sound like “fah-der”The word “with” will sound like “wid”

8. The unvoiced “th” sound is sometimes pronounced like “t”The unvoiced “th” is a member of what we call the “continuant sounds” and is formed in exactly the same way as the voiced “th” except for voicing: the voiced “th” uses your voice, while the unvoiced “th” doesn’t.

As a native Italian speaker, if you are pronouncing the voiced “th” sound like “d”, then you are most likely pronouncing the unvoiced “th” sound like “t.” This means that you are keeping your tongue inside your mouth and holding your breath before you say it, rather than continuing the sound.

To form the unvoiced “th” sound:

First, stick out your tongue slightly.

Let your upper front teeth rest very lightly on your tongue.

Keeping your tongue and teeth together push air out through the front of your mouth.

Make sure you continue or prolong this sound. You should not feel your tongue vibrate for this sound because you do not use your voice.

When the unvoiced “th” sounds like “t”:

The word “think” will sound like “tink.”

The word “something” will sound like “some-ting.”

The word “north” will sound like “nort”

9. The “h” sound is often omitted at the beginning of wordsThe “h” sound in American English is formed just by breathing out lightly. It belongs to the group of consonants called the “continuant sounds” because you must prolong or continue it.

When speaking English, it is common for native Italian speakers to omit this sound at the beginning of words. What happens is that instead of breathing out for “h” you hold your breath.

When “h” is omitted:The word “he” will sound like “ee”The word “him” will sound like “im”The word “hear” will sound like “ear”

10. The “ch” sound is sometimes pronounced like “sh”The “ch” sound is a member of what we call the “affricate” sounds and is actually made up of two separate sounds: “t” and “sh.”

Many native Italian speakers pronounce “ch” like “sh” when speaking English. If you are having difficulty forming this sound correctly, it means that you are omitting the first part of the sound “t” and pronouncing only the second part of the sound, “sh.”

Let’s take a look at how to form the “ch” sound correctly in English. To form the “ch” sound:

Round your lips

Press the sides of your tongue against your upper side teeth, forming a groove in the middle of your tongue

Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind your top front teeth

Hold your breath

Push air out of your mouth in a little explosion. If you keep your tongue flat without the sides pressed against your upper side teeth, you will form “ts” and not “ch”.

When “ch” sounds like “sh”The word “chip” will sound like “ship”The word “achieve” will sound like “uh-sheeve”The word “watch” will sound like “wash”

11. The “dg” sound is sometimes pronounced like “ch”The “dg” and “ch” sounds both belong to the group of consonants called the “affricate” sounds. They are formed exactly the same way with the exception of voicing: the “dg” uses your voice and the “ch” doesn’t. The “dg” sound is made up of two different sounds: “d” and “zh.”

As a native Italian speaker, you may be pronouncing the “dg” sound without voice, creating “ch.” The only change we will be making for this sound is to force it out using your voice.

To form the “dg” sound correctly in English:

Round your lips

Press the sides of your tongue against your upper side teeth, forming a groove in the middle of your tongue

Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind your top front teeth

Hold your breath

Push your voice out of your mouth in a little explosion.

When “dg” sounds like “ch”:The word “joke” will sound like “choke”The word “bridges” will sound like “britches”The word “edge” will sound like “etch”

12. The “ng” sound is often pronounced with a “g” or “k” after itThe “ng” sound is a member of what we call the “nasal sounds” because it goes through the nose when it is pronounced. Many people who speak English as a second language, including Italian speakers, add a “g” or “k” after the “ng” sound.

To form the “ng” sound:

Open your mouth.

Press the back of your tongue against the back of your throat.

As you say this sound release your tongue gently, making sure that you do not hold your breath first. If you hold your breath, then you will ending up adding a “g” or “k” after the sound.

When “ng” is pronounced with an added “g” or “k” after it:The word “singer” will sound like “sing-ger” or “sink-er”The word “going” will sound like “going-g” or “going-k”The word “talking” will sound like “talking-g” or “talking-k”

13. The “k” sound is often pronounced like “g”The “k” and “g” sounds belong to the group of sounds called the “stop” sounds and are formed in exactly the same way, except for what we call “voicing”: the “k” sound does not use your voice, while the “g” sound does.

Many Italian speakers use their voice when saying the “k” sound at the beginning and in the middle of words. This creates the “g” sound instead. If you are having difficulty pronouncing this sound correctly in English, it is most likely for this reason. You will be learning how to shut your voice off when saying “k.”

To form the “k” sound:

Open your mouth

Place the back of your tongue gently against the back of your mouth.

Hold your breath briefly and then push air out of your mouth in a little explosion. If you use your voice when you say this sound, it will become the “g” sound.

When “k” sounds like “g”The word “coat” will sound like “goat"The word “can” will sound like “gan”The word “come” will sound like “gum”

14. The “r” sound is usually rolledThe "r" sound is probably the most frequently used sound in American English. It occurs as a consonant, a vowel, and is present in lots of consonant blends, so it may very well be the sound that affects your accent the most.

As a native Italian speaker, the “r” sound is usually pronounced by either “rolling” it or “trilling” it. If the tongue tip hits the roof of the mouth once, it is called “rolling.” If the tongue tip hits the roof of the mouth several times, it is called “trilling.” Because the rolled or trilled “r” is so different from the “r” in American English, it may be difficult for some Americans to understand your speech. Because this sound occurs so frequently in English, it is a very important sound to learn and master.

Let’s first take a look at how to form the consonant “r” sound:

Round your lips

Feel your lower jaw move slightly forward. This will happen automatically when you make a circle with your lips.

Curl the tip of your tongue up toward the roof of your mouth, but do not let it touch anything.

As a consonant, the “r” can occur at the beginning of a word, such as in the word “red” and in the middle of the word, as in “around.”

As part of a consonant blend, the “r” occurs with one or two other consonants together in a word. Some native Italian speakers find the consonant blends a little bit easier to pronounce and do not roll the “r” as much with these words.

Examples of words with “r” blends include the following:

“price” may be pronounced like “price”

“scratched” may be pronounced like “scR-atched”

“three” may be pronounced like “thRee”

When the “r” occurs as a vowel, it is pronounced “er” and is formed in the same way as the consonant “r”, except the tongue and lips are slightly more relaxed. The vowel “er” can occur as a stressed syllable, such as in the word “bird,” or as an unstressed syllable, such as in the word “mother.”

15. The “ee” sound is often pronounced like “ih” and the “ih” sound is often pronounced like “ee”The “ih” and “ee” sounds belong to what we call the “front vowels” because they use the front part of the tongue to form them. As a native Italian speaker, you are most likely interchanging these sounds when you speak. This means that you are pronouncing the “ih” like “ee” and the “ee” like “ih.”

Although the “ee” and “ih” sounds belong to the same group of sounds, there are a couple of differences between them that should help you identify and pronounce them more easily: 1. Your tongue and lips should feel relaxed for “ih” and tense for “ee” 2. Your tongue is very high in your mouth for “ee” and only about half way up for “ih” 3. The sides of your tongue should press against your upper side teeth for “ee” but not for “ih”To form the “ih” sound:

Open your mouth so that your teeth are about an inch apart

Keep your lips are flat in a slight smile

Your tongue should be relaxed

Place your tongue about half way up inside your mouth

The tip of your tongue should be just behind your lower front teeth. You can actually place the tip of your tongue on the back of your bottom teeth.

As you say the “ih” sound, you will feel the front and middle of your tongue raise up slightly and then go back down.

16. The stressed “uh” is sometimes pronounced like “ah” or “oh”The “uh” sound belongs to what we call the “central vowels” because it uses the middle part of the tongue to form it.

As a native Italian speaker, you may be having difficulty forming this sound correctly in American English, due to one of following two reasons:

because your tongue is too low in your mouth and your lips are either open too wide creating “ah”

or, you may be raising the back of your tongue and rounding your lips creating the “oh” sound.

To form the stressed “uh” sound

Open your mouth slightly and let your jaw drop.

Keep your mouth relaxed.

Your tongue should be about half way up inside your mouth and should not touch anything. There is not much movement required to make this sound.

When “uh” sounds like “aw”:The word “under” will sound like “on-der"The word “other” will sound like “aw-ther"The word “company” will sound like “com-pany”When “uh” sounds like “oh”:The word “under” will sound like “oh-nder"The word “other” will sound like “oh-nder"The word “company” will sound like “comb-pany”

17. The “oh” sound is sometimes pronounced like “aw”The “oh” sound belongs to the group of vowels called the “back” vowels because it uses the back part of the tongue to form it. If you are having difficulty pronouncing this sound correctly, you are most likely pronouncing it like “aw.”

While the “aw” and “oh” both use the back part of the tongue to form them, there are some differences between them, as follows:

First, your tongue and lips are relaxed for “aw” and tense for “oh”

Next, your lips should form an open circle, almost like an oval for “aw”, where it ends with a tight circle for “oh”

The back of the tongue should be slightly raised for “aw” and raised high in the back of the mouth for “oh”

To form the “oh” sound:

Place your lips in an open circle

Tense your tongue and raise the back of it high in the back of your mouth

The front part of your tongue should be low in the front of your mouth

Move your lips into a tight circle as you say the “oh” sound

Finish the “oh” almost like an “oo” sound with your lips in a tight circle

When “oh” sounds like “aw”:The word “open” will sound like “aw-pen”The word “notice” will sound like “naw-tiss”The word “won’t” will sound like “want”

18. The “u” as in “put” is sometimes pronounced like “oo”The “u” sound belongs to the group of vowels called the “back” vowels because it uses the back part of the tongue to form it. Many people whose native language is Italian often pronounce the “u” sound like “oo.”

While the “u” and “oo” sounds both use the back part of the tongue to form them, there are some major differences, however. 1. Your tongue and lips are relaxed for “u” and are tense for “oo” 2. Your lips should be in a slight circle for “u” and a tight circle for “oo”To form the “u” sound

Form a slight circle while your mouth stays relaxed

The back of your tongue should raise up slightly and should also stay relaxed.

When “u” sounds like “oo”:The word “should” will sound like “shoed”The word “bush” will sound like “boosh”The word “took” will sound like “two-k”

19. The “l” sound is often distortedThe “l” sound belongs to the group of consonants called the “liquid sounds” because the tongue moves slightly forward or backward depending on what sound comes before or after it.

Many native Italian speakers distort the “l” sound by emphasizing it too much, placing the tongue further back in the mouth, and using the front and sides of the tongue. This is different from the American English pronunciation of this sound and creates a heaver, distorted sound.

To form the “l” sound:

Open your mouth

Place the tip of your tongue just behind your upper front teeth.

The sides of your tongue should stay relaxed, using just the tip of the tongue to form “l”

As you say the “l” sound release your tongue tip from the roof of your mouth.

Even though you may be distorting the "l" at this time, Americans should not have a difficult time understanding this sound.

20. The “ae” sound, or short “a” is often pronounced like “ah”.The “ae” sound belongs to the group of vowels called the “front vowels” because it uses the front part of the tongue to form it.

With Italian as your native language, you are most likely pronouncing the “ae” sound like “ah.” This means that you are placing your tongue very low in your mouth, rather than keeping it higher in the front of your mouth. In addition, your mouth is not open wide enough.

To form the “ae” sound:

Open your mouth wide

Place the tip of your tongue on top of or just behind your lower front teeth

Your tongue should be flat about half way up inside your mouth

With your tongue in place, pronounce the “ae” sound. If you lower the back of your tongue, you will form the “ah” sound.

When “ae” sounds like “ah”:The word “ask” will sound like “ahsk”The word “can’t will sound like “cahn’t” The word “last” will sound like “lahst”

21. The unstressed “uh” sound sometimes sounds like “ah”The unstressed “uh” sound belongs to the group of vowels called the “central vowels” because it uses the middle part of the tongue to form it. Many Italian speakers pronounce this sound like “ah.” If you are having difficulty pronouncing this unstressed “uh” sound, it is most likely because you are lowering the back of your tongue, creating the “ah” sound, rather than raising your tongue about half way up inside your mouth.To form the unstressed “uh” sound:

Open your mouth slightly and let your jaw drop.

Keep your mouth relaxed.

Your tongue should be about half way up inside your mouth and should not touch anything. There is not much movement required to make this sound.

When unstressed “uh” sounds like “ah”:The word “local” will sound like “low-kahl”The word “about” will sound like “ah-bout”The word “attend” will sound like “ah-tend”

22. Words that begin with a vowel may have an added “h” before it.Every vowel in American English, when said by itself, must begin by holding your breath. For example: “ae”, “ih”, “oh”, “aw” and so forth. Therefore, when a word begins with a vowel, you must hold your breath before you say the vowel and then and then force the sound out.

Some native Italian speakers tend to add a “h” at the beginning of word that starts with a vowel. If this is occurring in your speech, a “h” where it doesn’t belong will either create the wrong word or a nonsense word